Kwena Maphaka

The youngest player to play for South Africa, left-arm fast bowler Kwena Maphaka captured the public imagination with some incredible performances in the U19 World Cup in 2024. He took 21 wickets at a mind-boggling average of 9.71, which earned him the Player of the Tournament award. Not only was he rapid with the new ball, he also found movement and made life difficult for the opposition batters.

Maphaka was part of the 2022 U19 World Cup in the Caribbean as well, when he was just 15. He made his first-class debut a year later as part of the South Africa A squad in Sri Lanka. Born in Johannesburg, Maphaka was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024 after setting the stage on fire in his second U19 World Cup, and was even fast-tracked into the national squad.

Becoming the 134th player to play a Test for South Africa since readmission, Maphaka made his debut against Pakistan at Cape Town in January 2025. By then, he had already made his first appearances in T20I and ODI cricket.